Ezeedrone Bass, strike in issue.

[Gruffalo]

Hi, I'm currently trying to get a set of Ezeedrone drone reeds back into action. Tenors are going good, but having strike in problems with the Bass. Only if I strike the bag in a certain position does it strike in properly. Should I lengthen / shorten the tongue? is so which? Any other ideas please?

[el gaitero]

Originally Posted by Gruffalo

Should I lengthen / shorten the tongue?

Any other ideas please?

Yes. ...probably lengthen...a split fly hair. Also Ensure the bridle is absolutely concentric around the reed body. FWIW....of the several EZ sets I use generally all have the leading edge of the tenor bridle at ca 1/16” distant from the rear edge of the air hole under the tongue. YRMV...very slightly.
Closer to the air hole will make the reed more efficient..but risk shutting off....trial and error in split nanohairs movement. Give the ( individual) reeds a several tunes warm up before moving the bridle again. All the aforementioned presume you are targeting to have the tenors tune ideally...at or up to ca 1/8” above the hempline.

Lower then hempline ( sharp) could cause squeals...so judicious seated depth and pitch screw position may ( will) impact the desired tuning position.

[Gruffalo]

Originally Posted by el gaitero

Yes. ...probably lengthen...a split fly hair. Also Ensure the bridle is absolutely concentric around the reed body. FWIW....of the several EZ sets I use generally all have the leading edge of the tenor bridle at ca 1/16” distant from the rear edge of the air hole under the tongue. YRMV...very slightly.
Closer to the air hole will make the reed more efficient..but risk shutting off....trial and error in split nanohairs movement. Give the ( individual) reeds a several tunes warm up before moving the bridle again. All the aforementioned presume you are targeting to have the tenors tune ideally...at or up to ca 1/8” above the hempline.

Lower then hempline ( sharp) could cause squeals...so judicious seated depth and pitch screw position may ( will) impact the desired tuning position.

Thanks for your prompt reply.. So Sorry, long day, completely wiped out. FWIW and YRMV meaning pls?

[William McKenzie]

For What It's Worth. Your Results/reality May Vary.

[Freeman]

I had the exact same problem with an ezeedrone bass in a Gillander set of pipes.

Every time I struck-in the bass howled - even when I put them in the hands of an accomplished piper.

I fiddled with the bridle for an afternoon to no avail. What solved the howl was a plugging a drone valve under the bass drone - not a single issue after that.

[el gaitero]

Originally Posted by Freeman

I

I fiddled with the bridle for an afternoon to no avail. What solved the howl was a plugging a drone valve under the bass drone - not a single issue after that.

👍. I’ve found a wine bottle cork ( I suppose a syn one would also do) with a fat 1/8” hole drilled thru it works as an effective ‘valve’.

[magsevenband]

Same issue with them in a McCallum poly set...howling and a real bear to strike in..not a fan of these...avoid.

[Green Piper]

You may consider a different brand of bass drone reed. AFAIK, many reputable pipers use Ezee tenor reeds, but very few use their bass reeds.

Charlie

[el gaitero]

Originally Posted by magsevenband

Same issue with them in a McCallum poly set...howling and a real bear to strike in..not a fan of these...avoid.

Hmmm, I play(ed) EZ’s in my own poly McCallum set..no issues. Then I set up a set of MG White Mamba reeds....and found a bigger presence with them...so I left the Mamba’s in place.
As an aside..I did find that standard length EZ’s did tune too high up with a MK2 McCallum chanter at 475. So I switched to the long version EZ reeds to bring them down a bit. That worked. No strike-in issues with either length EZ reeds. I believe the seated depth ...1/4” out ...helped make for no problem.

[William McKenzie]

I have a long inverted Ezeedrone bass that's worked really well for me. I have owned and tried regular Ezeedrone bass reeds but they were problematic like others have noticed. The inverted is smoother and easier to work with I find. Ezeedrone tenors are fine, they're like Toyota vehicles. Boring but reliable. In my set of pipes they sound a bit nasally and singular for lack of better descriptors. Great reeds though.